@head2 =‘We all need to work together for a better place’

Green Left Weekly’s Alex Bainbridge spoke to Graeme Kelly, the founder of the band Civil Rights.

Why did you call the band Civil Rights?

Because myself, and some members in the band, believe in equal rights and civil rights for all people. I believe people are entitled to have food, shelter and a safe environment to live in with their families. That’s what I like to write about in my songs.

I believe in not cutting down the old-growth forests, in Aboriginal rights — after all, just recently there has been a death in custody on Palm Island, in Queensland. I believe the system needs to be changed, or if not changed then scrutinised.

Australia is such a multicultural place now, so I wrote the song “Birthright of a Nation” which goes “Birth right of a nation, black, white or Asian/stand you ground, don’t get pushed around”.

I believe we all need to stand together and look after each other. It doesn’t matter what your background, colour or creed is — we all need to work together for a better place.

I write about drug addiction, alcoholism, homelessness and mental health issues — a lot of social issues influence me.

The main reason I picked the name “Civil Rights” is that I believe strongly in the Eureka Stockade and what happened at Ballarat 150 years ago. I believe strongly that when they raised the Eureka Flag — the Southern Cross — that was the start of our independence from the Victorian system.

That’s why we’ve made the Eureka Flag our emblem and we play with it as our backdrop.

What sorts of songs do you write?

I wrote “Been Alone” and that’s about ending up alone in a prison cell due to alcoholism and drug addiction. “I Know Why” is about suffering depression and being suicidal. “Civil Rights” is about trying to resolve things without wars, without slaughtering our young men and women in wars. “Social Disease” is about how I view the system at the moment and one of the lines goes “Can you tell me this is the land of the free?/It’s a fucked up social disease”.

Can you explain how the band got together and what you’ve been doing?

About nine months ago I just started jamming with a friend. Then people heard that we’d started to get a band together again. Brendon [Hooker] who I’d played with before came in and another friend heard that we needed a drummer and put us on to Rene [Aragon]. I knew Josh Wilkinson who plays lead guitar and vocals and Civil Rights was formed.

A big turning point for the band was when we left my garage and came to the Socialist Alliance Centre to practice. Everything just came together.

We played our first gig at the party for Eureka Clubhouse at the Socialist Alliance Centre. And then we played at the [October 2 “End the lies”] peace rally on the parliament lawns. We played at the Republic Bar for the Eureka fundraiser and now we’re getting paid gigs all around town. What’s really encouraging is that at many pubs we’re being invited back to play again.

I’d especially like to thank people like Tony Heath from the Republic Bar who are forward thinking in giving new bands an opportunity to play original songs as well as covers. We are getting the opportunity to get our songs out there.

When we played “Social Disease” recently at Dover it all came together — I was blown away with people’s reaction.

I wrote the words and arranged it, but it wouldn’t have worked if I’d sung it alone. It was when Josh sang it, with Brendon’s bass line and Rene’s drumming — that’s what made it work. This is the essence of a Civil Rights song — it only works because we all worked on it together.

From Green Left Weekly, January 26, 2005.
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